NOW THEN | ISSUE 123

NOW THEN

HELENA PÉREZ GARCIA | SHEFFIELD DOC/FEST | PORTICO QUARTET A MAGAZINE FOR SHEFFIELD | ISSUE 123 | FREE

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EDITORIAL

NOW THEN 123, JUNE 2018

Once again, the time has come for us to put the print magazine to bed for summer, coming back fresh-faced and super-keen in September.

Over summer, we will be re-launching the existing Now Then Discounts app for Apple and Android devices, bringing magazine content and artwork across and calling it simply the Now Then app. If you’ve already got it installed, the new version will come to you as if by magic via automatic update.

This month we’ve got pieces on Sheffield Doc/Fest, including Filmreel’s pick of the festival and an interview with video artists Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard about their new installation, DOUBLETHINK. Joyce Bullivant explores heritage in her Timewalk piece, while Localcheck looks at co-operative working. Our featured artist is the superb Helena Pérez Garcia.

We can’t get enough of her work. As always, there’s plenty more to sink your teeth into.

Festival of Debate continues until 29 June, so take a look at the site for full details of our events exploring politics, economics and society - festivalofdebate.com. I’d also recommend you attend the launch of the Hannah Directory on 7 June at Access Space and pick up a copy of this informative, beautifullydesigned, pocket-sized book “celebrating the great stuff that people are doing in places in England’s north, and asking how even more of it can happen”. A fine statement of intent.

ART IN THE AGE OF AUTOMATION 5. LOCALCHECK

Who’s in Charge Here?

7. TIMEWALK

I Want to Start a Heritage Revolution

10. DOUBLETHINK

Exploring Beautiful Shades of Grey at Doc/Fest

12. FESTIVAL OF DEBATE Be Curious, Not Judgemental

14. SMART CITY

Come Out from Behind Your Screen

18. FOOD

A Mexican Fiesta

22. WORDLIFE

Joe Kriss / Salena Godden Linton Kwesi Johnson / Kayombo Chingonyi

SAM sam@weareopus.org

27. SAD FACTS

Banging Thoughts for Guilty Friends CONTACT

35. FEATURED ARTIST: HELENA PÉREZ GARCIA

Now Then exists to support the many communities of Sheffield, so we welcome local people to get involved in writing and producing the magazine.

Universal Meaning

39. MUSIC

If you are a writer, please read our guide for new contributors - nowthenmagazine.com/sheffield/get-involved - and then contact the editor on sam@weareopus.org.

Mishka Shubaly: Back From The Brink / Soundwaves

40. LIVE REVIEWS

If you are a poet or prose writer, contact joe@weareopus.org.

Peace / Roderick Williams & Ensemble 360

If you are a local trader interested in advertising in Now Then, contact jimmy@weareopus.org.

41. LIVE PICKS

Hosted by Sam Gregory

42. RECORD REVIEWS

CONTRIBUTORS

THE ‘NOW THEN DISCOUNTS’ APP IS BECOMING THE ‘NOW THEN’ APP 2

OVER THE COMING MONTHS, WE ARE WORKING WITH OUR DEVELOPERS ON REVAMPING THE NOW THEN DISCOUNTS APP FOR ANDROID AND IOS. WE WILL CARRY OVER ALL EXISTING FEATURES, LIKE INDEPENDENT BUSINESS PROFILES, EXCLUSIVE OFFERS AND MAPPING FUNCTIONALITY, BUT ALSO ADD SOME NEW FEATURES, LIKE ARTWORK AND ARTICLES FROM NOW THEN. HENCE THE CHANGE OF NAME, FROM NOW THEN DISCOUNTS TO SIMPLY NOW THEN.

Awooga / Gang Gang Dance / LUMP / John Shima

EDITOR. SAM WALBY. DESIGN & LAYOUT. SAINT LUCIA. SARAH LILLIMAN. ADVERTISING. JAMES LOCK. JIMMY THWAITE. ADMIN & FINANCE. ELEANOR HOLMSHAW. FELICITY JACKSON. COPY. SAM WALBY. FELICITY JACKSON. DISTRIBUTION. OPUS DISTRIBUTION. BEN JACKSON. WRITERS. ALT-SHEFF. JOYCE M BULLIVANT. SAM WALBY. ANDREW WOOD. ROS AYRES. JOE KRISS. SALENA GODDEN. LINTON KWESI JOHNSON. KAYOMBO CHINGONYI. SEAN MORLEY. LIAM CASEY. MARK MCINTOSH. SAM GREGORY. TOM JOSEPHIDOU. SAMANTHA HOLLAND. NICK GOSLING. MICHAEL HOBSON. TASHA FRANEK. ANDY TATTERSALL. STEPHEN CHASE. EMILY BEST. ART. HELENA PÉREZ GARCIA.

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The views expressed in the following And articles are the opinions of the writers and not necessarily those of Now Then Magazine. Reproduction of any of the images or writing in Now Then without prior consent is prohibited. Now Then may be unsuitable for under 18s. Now Then is a registered trademark of Opus Independents Ltd, 71 Hill Street, Sheffield, S2 4SP. (ISSN 2514-7757)

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Regulated by IMPRESS:ONLY the independent monitor for the press www.impress.press. For Complaints Scheme, see nowthenmagazine.com/ sheffield/complaints

44. PORTICO QUARTET Art in the Age of Automation

46. HEADSUP

Project Sandstorm / Now Then 10 Mix

50. FILMREEL

Doc/Fest 2018: Think/Rhythms/Visions / Film Listings

from 54.

FAVOURITES HOLLYWOOD HITS to INDIE FLICKS all FILM TICKETS only £4.50 Haddon Hall / One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Broomhill Festival / Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair African Sanctus / Kickov

Partners

WE’LL KEEP YOU UP TO SPEED IN THE COMING MONTHS. showroom_cinema

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LOCALCHECK WHO’S IN CHARGE HERE?

D

o you like taking orders? Are you happy going to work?

Global capitalism dominates our stormy economic world like a fleet of battleships, exploiting people and the environment. But it’s been sinking at least since the crisis of 2008. Co-operative businesses are something different. They avoid race-to-the-bottom price-cutting and mean tricks like zero-hours contracts. Instead they offer things that commercial business never can - control, culture, community. They inspire and succeed because people want to work together, without any captain’s orders. They want to sail the ship themselves.

In recent years, we’ve seen a surge of new co-ops. Sheffield’s got a good fleet of them, including several housing co-ops, a credit union, The Gardeners Rest pub, Portland Works, Regather

shareholders. Many operate a ‘one member, one vote’ setup, and they care about values, not just profits.

If you’re intrigued to find out what co-ops are up to, Principle Five is a comfortable, friendly co-op resources centre in Sheffield. Visitors are welcome. It’s in the same building as Sheffield Co-operative Development Group (SCDG), Aizlewood’s Mill on Nursery Street, which is also co-operatively-run. SCDG is a great help to anyone setting up and running a co-op, along with the national body, Co-ops UK. There’s even a Co-operative College and Sheffield Hallam University offers co-operative management courses.

Any group of people can start a co-op. You don’t need masses of training, but having help is good because the UK laws

“ANY GROUP OF PEOPLE CAN START A CO-OP” Works, Sheffield Creative Guild, Beanies, Lembas Wholefoods, Sheffield Renewables, Shipshape, ROCO, Union Street and Webarchitects. That’s not to mention the massive UK-wide Co-op Group, which has several supermarkets here, and also does insurance, funerals and electrical goods online at decent prices.

It was interesting to attend the annual general meeting of The Phone Co-op, held this year in Sheffield. Something strange happened, almost unknown at any corporate equivalent. The members of this landline, mobile and internet provider rejected a proposed business plan. Instead, they came back later for a special meeting and voted to merge with a larger co-op to achieve a much stronger basis for a successful business strategy.

All this happened in an atmosphere not of revolt, but of mutual honesty and respectful disagreement. It was genuine democracy at work, because co-operatives are run by members, not rich

CO-OPERATIVES FORTNIGHT

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on co-operatives aren’t easy. In fact, they seem to be deliberately confusing, compared to setting up a limited company.

Would it be too cynical to wonder whether someone, somewhere doesn’t want people working together and taking the power of production into their own hands?

From personal experience, after working in conventional jobs, moving to a co-op is a genuinely refreshing change. It took me a few weeks to fully realise, looking around at my colleagues, that we aren’t under orders. We can steer this ship in whatever direction we like. Monday mornings really can be a pleasure.

Hosted by Alt-Sheff

principle5.coop | scdg.org | alt-sheff.org

CO-OPERATION VS CAPITALISM

23 June to 7 July | Across the UK

Tue 12 June | 7-9pm | Regather Works | Free

Every year, co-operatives across the UK roll the banners out to tell the world what’s great about co-operation. Check out the Co-operatives UK website for activities and resources, especially if you’re already in a co-op. uk.coop/fortnight

Part of Festival of Debate, this event asks whether co-operatives work in practice, discussing a widespread theory that co-ops eventually fail, or turn into profit-focussed hierarchical businesses to survive in the free market. festivalofdebate.com/june-2018

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MAKING A DIFFERENCE

TIMEWALK I WANT TO START A HERITAGE REVOLUTION

I

started Timewalk Project five years ago with the idea of mapping out Sheffield’s historic sites and linking them to history groups – but it turns out that a lot more happens when you start doing that.

People came to me thanking me for putting their neighbourhood on the map. I discovered heritage is powerful.

People like it because it gives them an identity and a feeling of continuity. Equally, if local institutions ignore it, bulldoze it without thought, they disconnect people and leave them feeling powerless.

In Sheffield and its surrounding areas, there is a wealth of culture that goes back centuries. If we were in Austria, we would be bringing busloads of tourists to visit the medieval churches, watch the Sword Dances and listen to the Sheffield Carols. Sheffield’s history is buried under a national curriculum that talks about Mayan culture, not Wincobank, the outpost of the Brigantes, one of the most important iron-age kingdoms;

Sheffield’s central hub for coffee, co-working, street food lunches & daily public events...

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at Manor Top are supporting the local community, but are at risk because the Council is considering sale of their building to a developer. A more cohesive community means lower crime, better mental health and lower costs for social services and care. Sale of an old building to a developer brings a small cash inpux and then it’s spent.

Over the years, shifts in family structures have meant communities have changed and often support that was previously supplied within the family and the community has become the concern of local or central government. Since the cuts in funding, many vulnerable people have been left without support, but there are non-profit organisations that are stepping in. Using heritage and community can help reach sources of funding that our services can’t.

It’s time to take action - to create a Heritage Neighbourhood Watch to keep an eye on our important buildings, to demand that they are protected, not neglected, sold off or

“I DISCOVERED HERITAGE IS POWERFUL” the wonders of the pyramids, not the 200 waterwheels that built the Industrial Revolution. There is talk of decay, not continuity. The old is demolished and with it people’s self worth.

They and their ancestors worked hard in the mines and the steelworks. They risked their lives to build this modern world and now they are told their histories have no worth.

I want to convince everybody that their histories matter, and that includes those who have just arrived and those who have been here for generations. Let’s be proud of what makes Sheffield Sheffield. It’s not perfect, but where is? I want us to use the greatest assets we have, our heritage and our people, and that includes all the people here, of all ethnicities, genders and religions.

Heritage is something that can evoke strong feelings within a community, but often not in local politicians. It also has a lot of useful properties. Many old buildings have a resilience and an adaptability that newer buildings lack. They are more likely to house start-up businesses and creative industries. They are more likely to be at the centre of a community. Sheffield has more independent businesses, more social enterprises and more voluntary workers than many other cities. In monetary terms that fact is worth millions and is an important part of Sheffield’s economy. Organisations like DeHood boxing gym

demolished. No more decisions behind closed doors. It is our heritage.

Joyce M Bullivant

Handsworth Sword Dancer Photo by Bryan Ledgard

Read ‘Heritage Is An Asset’, a paper by Joyce, on the Centre For Welfare Reform website - centreforwelfarereform.org.

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LOOKING AFTER EACH OTHER

8

How did the departure points of ‘HOPE or HATE’ come about?

We often come back to the famous Milton quote from Paradise Lost, “The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.” We’re intrigued by how much they rely on each other. Right and wrong, good guys and bad guys, awe and terror, angels and demons. The poet William Blake wrote, “Without contraries is no progression. Attraction and repulsion, reason and energy, love and hate are necessary to human existence.”

We’re drawn to this idea that contrary states aren’t a binary choice. Doctrines and ideologies that force people to one side of the argument or the other invariably filter out all the beautiful shades of grey in between. So that’s really what this piece is about - it’s asking us to embrace the grey area.

How does the input from mental health researchers, and mental health as a theme, inform the work?

Through the support of [project funders] Wellcome, we’ve been able to access an incredible range of scientists and their research work has informed many of the decisions we’ve made developing and making the work. So for example, Robb Rutledge’s lab at UCL researches factors that determine happiness and how emotional states influence decision making.

Susanne Schweizer’s research concerns cognitive control and emotion regulation in depression and PTSD, and Emily Holme’s research group in the department of Clinical Neuroscience at

created by someone else we’ve worked with in the past, Warren Ellis from Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. A project like this always feels a little bit like ‘getting the band back together’.

How does DOUBLETHINK compare or diverge from other video work you’ve done in the past?

There’s similarities and also hopefully some progression too. You build on ideas that have interested you over the years and try to look at them in a new way. One thing that’s important to us is to find ways to make video art that isn’t apologetic about not being a ‘film’. We want to use the medium to develop and explore ideas in a way that’s different to drama and documentary, a route to discover new truths.

After working together for so long, do you find it hard to really challenge yourselves through your work, or does your collaboration push you both beyond what you could each achieve on your own?

Collaboration has always been at the heart of what we do.

We discovered very early on that together we could be more than the sum of individual parts. You encourage and push each other into new areas. It becomes almost like a dare - ‘I will if you will’. That’s what keeps us excited and moving forward.

Our collaboration also extends beyond ourselves. With this piece, there’s not just George and Stuart and Warren, there’s also the scientists, the team we work with to design the sets, filming, lighting, costume - so many things going on in the background and they all grow out of conversation and collabo-

“WE’RE LESS INTERESTED IN REALITY THAN WE ARE IN IDEAS OF TRUTH”

DOUBLETHINK EXPLORING BEAUTIFUL SHADES OF GREY AT DOC/FEST

I

ain Forsyth and Jane Pollard have been a collaborative artistic duo for 25 years, perhaps best known recently for their first foray into feature film, 20,000 Days on Earth, a documentary drama featuring and co-written by Nick Cave, depicting a fictitious day in the esteemed musician’s life. As well as a wide range of short films, they have also written and directed for the series Neil Gaiman’s Likely Stories.

For this year’s Sheffield Doc/Fest, which runs from 7 to 12 June across the city, Forsyth and Pollard are setting up an immersive video installation inside two shipping containers at the Doc/Fest Exchange on Tudor Square, presenting visitors with a choice between two doors marked ‘HOPE’ and 10

‘HATE’. Exploring mental health, as well as contradiction, binaries and ‘grey areas’, DOUBLETHINK is free to enter throughout Doc/Fest. They told me more.

Tell us about DOUBLETHINK and how it came into being.

We were invited to make a new piece specially for Sheffield Doc/Fest. We’ve been researching and thinking a lot about opposites. The idea of heaven and hell, both in the dramatic sense of storytelling, but also in more social and political contexts. Do we define our environment or does it define us?

So that was the sort of stuff we were thinking about as we developed this idea.

the Karolinska Institutet includes a focus on mental imagery and the treatment of psychological trauma among refugees.

A lot of your past work explores reality and re-enactment.

How does this feed in to DOUBLETHINK? We’re less interested in reality than we are in ideas of truth. That’s what makes the context of a documentary film festival exciting to be working within. Our work has often tried to find different ways to access different truths. Our last film, 20,000 Days on Earth, looks closely at that idea, the difference between objective truth and emotional truth. Re-enactment is often used to reconsider the past.

We’ve never really been interested in that historical context.

When we first started working together in the mid-90s, we found re-enactment was a useful part of our toolkit that enabled us to consider the past refracted through a present moment, a way to find out more about the world right here, right now.

How were Stuart Evers and George MacKay involved in DOUBLETHINK? Stuart is a novelist and author of short stories. We’ve worked together in the past on a project commissioned by the Moog Sound Lab. We’re fans of his writing and asked him to get involved in this project to help write the monologues that you hear in the piece. On camera, it’s George that delivers the monologues. He’s an actor we’re incredibly excited by, smart and intuitive. We love working with him. We’ve worked with George before too. He was the lead in one of the episodes of Neil Gaiman’s Likely Stories we directed.

We’re also delighted that the music for this piece has been

ration. That’s important to us.

After Doc/Fest, what’s next for you?

We’ve got a couple of film and TV projects in development.

We’re also just about to embark on a new series of photographic works, which we’ll be making in our new studio at Somerset House in London. We moved in recently, and as well as more space to work, it’s given us more space to think. So there’s lots of stuff we’re dying to get our teeth into.

Sam Walby

The DOUBLETHINK video installation is free throughout Doc/Fest, 7-12 June, at the Doc/Fest Exchange on Tudor Square. DOUBLETHINK is commissioned by Sheffield Doc/ Fest with support from Wellcome. sheffdocfest.com | iainandjane.com

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GLOBAL GATHERINGS

FESTIVAL OF DEBATE BE CURIOUS, NOT JUDGEMENTAL

A

s Festival of Debate enters the final furlong on its ten-week run, we want to thank everyone who has come out to our events, from the most intimate workshop to the largest keynote speech. It’s been so heartening to see so many people engaged in such important political and social issues, and the range of partners we’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with has been fantastic.

It’s not over yet though, so here are a few picks of events through to the closing party on 29 June. You can find the full programme and tickets at festivalofdebate.com, or connect with us over email, Facebook or Twitter.

Sam, Now Then editor-in-chief

THE PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE OF EUROPEAN UNITY

LINTON KWESI JOHNSON

Thu 7 June | 6:30-8:30pm | Quaker Meeting House | Free

Thu 21 Jun | 7:30pm | Abbeydale Picture House | £12/£10

An exploratory panel discussion featuring Natalie Bennett (Former Leader of the Green Party), Dr Owen Parker (Senior Lecturer in European Politics at the University of Sheffield), and Venandah Madanhi (Our Brexit).

A live performance from legendary ‘dub poet’ Linton Kwesi Johnson, with support from local musical superstar Kweku of Ghana (K.O.G). A collaboration between Festival of Debate, Wordlife and Migration Matters Festival (19-23 Jun, migrationmattersfestival.co.uk).

PECHA KUCHA VOL#26: ‘DEAL WITH IT’ Tue 12 June | 7-11pm | Theatre Deli | £9 seated/£6 standing A fun and inspiring evening of talks, accompanied by short films and live entertainment, exploring how different people face, approach and engage with the things that they want to change in their lives and the world around them.

THE ARTS: CAN REJECTION LEAD TO PROGRESSION? A NEW DIALECTIC Sat 16 June | 1-2pm | DINA | £3/£2 British Intervention host a panel of five artists from workingclass backgrounds, discussing working-class participation and representation in the arts. Followed by a theatre, live music and performance art piece, The Gesamtkunstwerk (£7/£5 for both panel and performance).

DISMEMBERED: POLLY TOYNBEE & DAVID WALKER Wed 20 June | 7:30-9pm | Pennine Lecture Theatre | £10/£8 Guardian columnists Polly Toynbee and David Walker investigate the dismantling of public services. As key public services are cut back and increasingly outsourced to private companies, they ask how these services can be protected.

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IT ISN’T HISTORY: WHY THE 1984-85 MINERS’ STRIKE MATTERS TODAY Thu 21 June | 6:30-9pm | Quaker Meeting House | Free Former BBC journalist Nick Jones discusses media coverage of the Miners’ Strike - and why it still matters today. Also featuring Chris Peace (Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign) and chaired by Granville Williams. Aimed at younger people unfamiliar with the significance of the epic struggle.

100 YEARS OF WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE, FT. HELEN PANKHURST & HOLLIE MCNISH Fri 29 June | 7pm-12am | Abbeydale Picture House | £10/£8 To close Festival of Debate, we celebrating 100 years of (some) women’s right to vote, featuring Helen Pankhurst in conversation with Dr Kate Taylor-Jones (University of Sheffield), poetry from the Ted Hughes Award-winning Hollie McNish, Salena Godden, and the Verse Matters Collective, and top-notch music from Before Breakfast and Girl Gang DJs.

festivalofdebate.com | @FestOfDebate

ALL BASES COVERED

SMART CITY COME OUT FROM BEHIND YOUR SCREEN

T

he ghost of Roald Dahl has come to dinner. Death hasn’t dulled his appetite for wine. “‘Never stop looking at the world with glittering eyes.’ I said that,” he declares.

“And I was right, as usual. But what’s with these smart phones?

Everyone just scowls at their little screens now. It kills me, or it would do...”

My wife agrees enthusiastically. “I say, when you’re given a choice, always go for the most fun option. What’s the most fun thing to do in Sheffield?” So begins a long discussion.

Hang-gliding off Mam Tor? Exploring the Megatron, which sounds much more exciting than ‘gigantic drain’? Playing frisbee in Ruskin Park? Placing bets on whether anyone finishing their yoga class on Commonside will dive desperately into the bacon sandwich shop next door?

“Come on,” says a voice in my head, “It’s early. Time to seize the day.” An hour later, I’ve made coffee and packed a bag. I

“What do you make of smart cities?” he asks. “Erm…” I reply confidently, “Remember how I used to write about our class trips for the school magazine, and how the pieces were never quite true, because a bit of surrealism made them a lot funnier?” “Mm-hmm.” He doesn’t remember. “Well,” I bluster on, “I thought I was being smart. If it makes people laugh, they’ll keep reading. Is a smart city just about big data, giving us ever more reasons to stare at screens? If so, it’s going to make us dumber. Reducing our driving by relying on loads of other people (or robots) to drive around on our behalf isn’t smart. It’s wildly inefficient.

“But what if a smart city could make us smarter, make us laugh, put the glitter back in our eyes? How would it do that?

What if augmented reality could make the city more interesting, rather than just make us more likely to spend money?

Could it reconnect us with nature? Could it reach out to lonely

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“I DELETED MY ACCOUNT AND WAITED OUT THE APOCALYPSE” have a notebook and I’m off in search of ideas.

I catch a bus to Wharncliffe Side with no other plan than to walk home. I zig-zag vertically - up to Brightholmlee, down to Bradfield, across the Loxley, up into Stannington, down to Rails, across the Rivelin, then up home through the Bole Hills. I pause a few times to write down my thoughts.

I quit Facebook recently, because I had stopped having ideas. I used to think it was a sociable place, but I came to realise it was just a place to hide. Hide yourself amongst versions of yourself and wait to see if the real you will be discovered. Hiding is seeing the world through the eyes of the hunted. I was in flight mode. I could no longer think like an adventurer, an inquisitor. I could only scroll. I deleted my account and waited out the apocalypse. The echo chamber silently imploded and scattered its debris to the four winds. A handful of people ceased to exist. The cat breathed a sigh of relief. No-one noticed my leaving.

Just before I cut the cord, I remembered an old school friend. After a 30-year absence, we meet up, no longer passively observing each other’s lives on social media, but crashing headlong into the same place and time. We pick up where we left off as children, with laughter and ideas, paying no heed to our insistent grey hairs or our acquired cynicism. It’s a moving experience, and it’s fun.

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people, or play pranks on people who were staring at their phones too much? Maybe if I could map where I was when I had a good idea, and other people did the same, then we could share ideas depending on the spaces they happened in? That would mean that spaces were generating ideas. That could be a really smart city.”

It already sounds much more fun than Facebook.

Andrew Wood

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FOOD A MEXICAN FIESTA

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exican food is colourfully diverse, with dishes from heuvos ranchos and zingy ceviche to tacos topped with pico de gallo. The cuisine varies by region, climate and history, with influences from Spanish to Aztec.

Trade and colonisation meant ingredients such as garlic, onion, corn and tomatoes became integral to many dishes.

In Sheffield, newcomers include Taco Mex and Taco Loco, both on London Road, and Piña, a Mexican-themed cocktail bar in Kelham Island. Other favourites include Street Food Chef, Shy Boy Cantina at The Great Gatsby, and California Fresh on Glossop Road. We chatted to Abi Golland from Street Food Chef and Joe Cribley from Piña.

What do you love about Mexican food?

[Joe, Piña] Mexican food has influences from many cultures, from Lebanese, English, French and obviously from indigenous people. In regards to flavour, it often plays upon

None of these are very spicy, but all have distinctive flavours.

What tips would you give to make a proper burrito?

[Joe] Unlike tacos, burritos should use wheat-based tortilla wraps. Seasoning or flavouring your rice is really important and making sure there’s enough moisture, either with salsa or sour cream or avocado. I personally like to pan fry my burrito once finished.

[Abi] Whichever tortilla you use, you need to warm it first.

This will help you to roll it without tearing. If you do like rice, use easy grain, not basmati. Beans are an essential. I love the way we do our black beans. Try mashing them up with some oil and salt and pepper to create refried beans.

If you were cooking a meal for friends, what would be on the menu and why?

[Joe] Tacos al pastor, probably the most famous taco from Mexico. Homemade corn tortillas, marinated pork, pineapple, coriander, white onion and fresh lime. Jackfruit can be used

CARNITAS “MEXICAN FOOD HAS INFLUENCES FROM MANY CULTURES” really simple combinations of sweet, sour and spice which hit the spot every time.

[Abi, Street Food Chef] Fresh, simple ingredients that taste fantastic. Pico de gallo is the simplest and most Mexican of recipes - onions, tomatoes, lime and coriander (add chillies if you want) - and this salsa transforms any dish. We love the fact that with a few different salsas and meats, you can have so many fantastic combinations.

There’s more to chillies than the heat. How do we decide whether to use jalapeño or habanero?

[Joe] It’s very much a misconception that Mexican food is spicy. That’s rarely the case. It’s true chilli is everywhere in the food, but they’re used in ways to give flavour and depth to dishes, not just a mouthful of spice. They’re pretty easy to get hold of these days and my favourite is achiote.

[Abi] Did you know a chipotle is a dried and smoked jalapeno? The habanero chilli is sweet and peppery, as well as hot. We use dried mulato, pasilla and ancho in our mole sauce.

as a vegan alternative to pork. Drinks, I’d always go for a Tommy’s Margarita: two parts tequila or mezcal, one part fresh lime juice, one part agave syrup, shaken and served over ice. Maybe a few Pacifico Claras on the side too...

[Abi] I might make proper carnitas, which is essentially pulled pork, and I’d make sure there were bowls of chopped coriander, raw onions and slices of lime on the table. I’d serve guacamole with crackling, a very Mexican treat, as a starter.

I’d serve chopped watermelon with chilli flakes, lime juice, feta cheese and red onion. Very refreshing. Drinks wise, I would start with margaritas and then lots of cold beer.

Ros Ayres nibblypig.co.uk

barpina.co.uk | streetfoodchef.co.uk

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Recipe by Street Food Chef Enter any Mexican taquería in California and you’ll find carnitas on the menu, usually pork butt (the shoulder roast) - braised first, pulled apart, then roasted on high heat to caramelise. We source our pork locally from Moss Valley Fine Meats. We serve it either in a burrito with black beans, rice and salsa, or in a taco for a lighter bite.

Serves 4 – 600g pork shoulder 1tsp cumin seeds (toasted) 1tsp paprika Cider vinegar Salt & pepper

Lightly oil and salt the pork rind to make sure you get great crackling, then roast the pork at 175°C. After four hours, take the meat out of the oven, drain the juices and set them to one side. Take the crackling off. If it hasn’t crackled enough, you can put it back in the oven at a higher heat (190°C), but keep an eye on it, because it can blacken quickly.

Pull the pork apart and cover it with a generous splash of cider vinegar, toasted cumin seeds, paprika, salt and pepper. Put it back in the oven for 20 minutes, then make a stock with the juices that you have set aside. Add some water and reduce it over the heat.

Pour a little of the stock over it, so that the meat soaks it up, and serve it with salsa and rice for a delicious Mexican treat, or serve with wheat flour tacos, salsa, iceberg lettuce, sour cream, jalapeños and coriander.

FOOD EVENTS Learn about energy-efficient cooking with Heeley City Farm’s Farm To Fork cooking course, 18 June to 23 July. Using a range of farm produce, get hands on and create simple, low-cost everyday dishes. See their website for details.

This month, Coco Cereal Bar is opening on Charles Street, offering cereals from around the world with choices of milks and toppings. They will have cakes, ice cream and milkshakes on the menu too.

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WORDLIFE HOSTED BY JOE KRISS

W

e’re as pleased as punch to announce that Wordlife co-founder Kayo Chingonyi won the Dylan Thomas Prize last month, one of the most prestigious literary prizes out there.

You’ll find an exclusive new poem from Kayo here alongside a taster of two of the biggest events we’ve ever run, coming up at the end of this month at the iconic Abbeydale Picture House.

These will be truly spectacular one-off events. Tickets are flying out, so we recommend you grab yours soon.

MIGRATION MATTERS & WORDLIFE PRESENT: LINTON KWESI JOHNSON & K.O.G LIVE.

Joe Kriss joe@weareopus.org

Fri 29 June | 7:30pm | Abbeydale Picture House | £10/8

Thu 21 June | 7:30pm | Abbeydale Picture House | £12/10 A performance from legendary ‘dub poet’ and musician Linton Kwesi Johnson, with support from K.O.G’s latest live offering, plus King David on the decks.

FESTIVAL OF DEBATE CLOSING PARTY: 100 YEARS OF WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE Featuring women’s rights activist Helen Pankhurst, Ted Hughes Award-winning viral superstar Hollie McNish, Salena Godden and local heroes Verse Matters, plus music from Before Breakfast and Girl Gang DJs.

Inglan is a Bitch

For Those Who Mispronounce My Name

wen mi jus coma to Landan toun mi use to work pan di andahgroun but workin pan di andahgroun yu dont get fi know your way aroun

After my kakha, my father’s father who died before I was born, I was gifted this Luvale name; the self-same borne by my kakha, brother to my father’s mother, who hugged me at Kaunda Airport because his sister, my kakha, died before I had a chance to see her again.

Inglan is a bitch dere’s no escapin it Inglan is a bitch dere’s no runin whe fram it mi get a likkle jab in a big otell an awftah a while, mi woz doin quite well dem staat mi awf as a dish-washah but wen mi tek a stack, mi noh tun clack-watchah!

Inglan is a bitch dere’s no escapin it Inglan is a bitch noh baddah try fi hide fram it wen dem gi you di likkle wage pakit fus dem rab it wid dem big tax rackit yu haffi struggle fi mek enz meet an wen yu goh a yu bed yu jus cant sleep Inglan is a bitch dere’s no escapin it Inglan is a bitch fi true a noh lie mi a tell, a true

If you have a piece of creative writing you want to submit to us, please email joe@weareopus.org

mi use to work dig ditch wen it cowl noh bitch mi did strang like a mule, but, bwoy, mi did fool den awftah a while mi jus stap dhu owevahtime den awftah a while mi jus phu dung mi tool Inglan is a bitch dere’s no escapin it Inglan is a bitch yu haffi know how fi suvive in it

Linton Kwesi Johnson

And those not permitted to vote And those that are still fighting to speak With a boot stamping on their throat

Pessimism Is For Lightweights Think of those that marched this road before And those that will march here in years to come The road in shadow and the road in the sun The road before us and the road all done History is watching us and what will we become This road is all flags and milestones Immigrant blood and sweat and tears Built this city, built this country Made this road last all these years This road is made of protest 22

There is power and strength in optimism To have faith and to stay true to you Because if you can look in the mirror And have belief and promise you Will share wonder in living things Beauty, dreams, books and art Love your neighbour and be kind And have an open heart Then you’re already winning at living You speak up, you show up and stand tall It’s silence that is complicit It’s apathy that hurts us all Pessimism is for lightweights There is no straight white line It’s the bumps and curves and obstacles That make this road yours and mine Pessimism is for lightweights This road was never easy and straight And living is all about living alive and lively And love will conquer hate Salena Godden

well mi dhu day wok an mi dhu nite wok mi dhu clean wok an mi dhu dutty wok dem seh dat black man is very lazy but if yu si how mi wok yu woodah seh mi crazy Inglan is a bitch dere’s no escapin it Inglan is a bitch yu bettah face up to it dem have a likkle facktri un inna Brackly inna disya facktri all dem dhu is pack crackry fi di laas fifteen years dem get mi laybah now awftah fifteen years mi fall out a fayvah

* It is not only my body I’ve carried this long while to the side eye and scrutiny of border control but the name your tongue stumbles on an heirloom a shibboleth. * This is the word for a boy-child in Darlington whose mother heard my mother speak this name and wished one day her son would feel its weight when she called him or conjured him in conversation the way my mother did — to think I thought myself unloved. * What you might think a simple case of tomato tomato is life and breath to somebody like me; who could search all your histories and never find his epithet glowing among those annals and tracts; who does not exist according to your version of events. * Did no one tell you naming is a magical act, words giving shape to life, life revivified by utterance, so long as proper care is taken to pronounce the words correctly thereby completing the spell?

Kayombo Chingonyi

Inglan is a bitch dere’s no escapin it Inglan is a bitch dere’s no runin whe fram it mi know dem have wok, wok in abundant yet still, dem mek mi redundant now, at fifty-five mi getin quite ole yet still, dem sen mi fi goh draw dole Inlgan is a bitch dere’s no escapin it Inglan is a bitch fi true is whe wi a goh dhu bout it?

Linton Kwesi Johnson 23

SEEK OUT THE SUBLIME

CONTEMPORARY ART, HISTORICAL SETTING

FOLLOW US ON:

HOUSE GARDEN FARMYARD SHOP & EAT STAY

d u o L t u O Art

Linder Sterling

Lubaina Himid

Talks by artists, curators and writers

21 – 23 September 2018

Alice Rawsthorn

This year Art Out Loud features over 30 speakers including 2017 Turner Prize-winner Lubaina Himid, Chatsworth artist-in-residence Linder Sterling and award-winning design critic Alice Rawsthorn.

For more information and to book tickets, please visit chatsworth.org/aol

FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE

SAD FACTS BANGING THOUGHTS FOR GUILTY FRIENDS

LARGEST PRINT DISTRIBUTION RUNS IN THE CITY & BEST VALUE SERVICE IN THE WHOLE REGION. DISTRIBUTED TO PUBLIC LOCATIONS, RETAILIERS, BARS, CAFES, LIBRARIES, DOCTORS, OFFICES, LEISURE CENTRES.

OPUS DISTRIBUTION HAVE SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE SEEN? POSTERS, FLYERS, BROCHURES, MAGAZINES GET YOUR PRINT TO THE PEOPLE OF SHEFFIELD NOW THEN.

‘GREAT AT MAKING SURE THE PRODUCT YOU ARE PROMOTING IS SEEN BY THE RIGHT PEOPLE IN THE RIGHT PLACES. THEY ARE HELPFUL, FLEXIBLE, AND ALWAYS WILLING TO GO THE EXTRA MILE. WE ARE ALWAYS ABLE TO KEEP TRACK OF WHERE OUR PRINT HAS GONE THANKS TO THEIR COMPREHENSIVE DISTRIBUTION REPORTS, AND WE GREATLY VALUE THEIR COMMITMENT TO RECYCLE OUT-OF-DATE PRINT’

WHY I’M NO LONGER TALKING TO MILLENNIALS ABOUT GAMMON

ANTISEMITISM

Racism comes in many forms. The type of racism I experience is the type exclusively levelled at jowl-encrusted 50 year old men from suburban England who leap out of the Question Time audience, ready to emphatically jab a sausage finger towards whichever cultural icon tries to erect a wind turbine within a 100-mile radius of their house.

Did I choose to be this way? Am I pleased that my skin looks like pâté and my grandchildren call me a ‘wasteman’ because I can’t operate an iPad? Of course not. But I take solace in my quiet, calm lifestyle, a rose-tinted misremembering of the past and the wealth I’ve accumulated from living through the post-war economic boom. I’ve never hurt anyone directly, so forgive me if I’m taken aback by the vitriol being hurled my way by the true wastemen of our society: people younger than myself.

When I was a lad, there were no bad things. If memory serves correctly, bad things only began happening in this country at some point between the first time I saw a tamagotchi and when my nephew explained to me what sushi was. That’s when it all went downhill. Now meat has been banned from shops, Roy Chubby Brown has been sent to Alcatraz, and young people are allowed to call me gammon, just because I attacked a young Bangladeshi boy because I mistook a fidget spinner for an improvised explosive device.

It is long overdue that the British Left addresses its blind spot when it comes to anti-semitism. Yes, there have been some advances made, but I would like to see more effort to stamp out the most pernicious anti-semitic dogwhistle of all: any form of criticism of the state of Israel.

Is Israel perfect? Who amongst us is?! But from disliking hummus all the way to looking away when Israeli defence force snipers joke about killing children, let’s call this behaviour what it truly is: demonic possession from Hitler’s ghost.

To me, these things are obvious. I can relate to the situation Israel finds itself in. I happen to have built my house in the middle of a primary school. Whether or not it is correct that I was able to build a two-storey semi-detached here in the first place is by the by, and perhaps a matter for historians. Yes, it is also true I have continually expanded - first an observatory, then an extensive patio, and the solarium is due to be fully complete by mid-November - to fill a majority of the playground.

Should I have done that? Should I not have done that?

It’s hard to say. But what I can say is that children in the playground have been throwing stones at my windows and spraying rude words on my brickwork since day one, so it’s pretty rich to suggest that I’m in any way remiss to take pot shots at them from the second floor with a 9mm pistol.

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SEAN MORLEY (@SEANMORL) 27

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GET YOUR ARTS & CRAFTS ON

MEET, EAT, DRINK & CREATE

MillenniuM Gallery, Sheffield 27-29 July 2018

The Art House is a city centre venue with a huge array of pottery and art classes, exhibition spaces, venue hire and a fantastic vegetarian and vegan café, The Tea Studio.

What’s New: Adult Art & Pottery Summer Schools. Kids Summer Schools & Workshops.

Plus lots of new art, pottery courses & one off workshops including ‘Sip and Paint’ classes.

Tea Studio Café, with new summer menu (lots of vegan & gluten free options) Homemade cakes & take-away service available.

Exhibitions: Glitch: An exhibition featuring young artists from Longley Park College. 6th–14th June One Lens, Countless Stories: Snowdrop Project (Migration Matters Festival). 19th June–23rd June Sylvia Royal: Art & Ceramic Exhibition. 30th June–13th July

The Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair is an opportunity to buy and commission innovative and beautiful craft, direct from over 70 of the North’s leading artists and designer-makers.

Friday 27th July: 18:00 - 21:00* Saturday 28th July: 10.00 - 17:00 Sunday 29th July: 11:00 - 16:00 *preview For further details

www.greatnorthernevents.co.uk

To find out more, or to book a class visit: www.arthousesheffield.co.uk Tel. 0114 272 3970 @arthousesheff /arthousesheffield

8 Backfields, Sheffield, S1 4HJ

The Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair is organised by Great Northern Events NW Ltd, a not for profit organisation

HELENA PÉREZ GARCIA UNIVERSAL MEANING

H

elena Pérez Garcia is a designer and illustrator who originates from Spain, but now lives and works here in the UK. Her work explores fantastical settings, characters and concepts, but remains rooted and relevant through its profoundly philosophical undertones. The detachment from any specific era or place that her flamboyant style creates means that her work has a truly universal feeling, speaking of the human experience as a whole, across time and space, and not only of our current climate.

You originally planned to move into graphic design. What pulled you towards illustration?

I loved art and drawing since I was a child, so for me studying Fine Arts was something natural. I decided to be a designer because I wanted to work in the creative industry, and to me graphic design seemed the best choice, as I didn’t see myself as an artist or a teacher.

I began to draw even before I learnt to read, but once I was able to read books, I really enjoyed the combination of both. Even when I was reading books with no illustrations I loved creating my own, as I almost felt the need to put on paper those worlds that I was imagining inside my head. I love the new meanings that an illustration can give to a text, and it’s always a challenge to create something that’s in sync but also that gives an extra level of meaning.

Your work is often fantastical, even philosophical at times.

What draws you to the concepts you choose to portray?

I’m always asking questions of myself and creating illustrations as a way to try to find answers. It’s also a way to try to understand a bit better the world that we live in, trying to make sense out of it. I’ve been quite interested in the past few years in the idea of identity and how we perceive ourselves. I think it’s been a way to try to understand myself a bit better, how I have changed, and how I keep changing every day. It’s almost like therapy.

“I LOVE THE NEW MEANINGS THAT AN ILLUSTRATION CAN GIVE TO A TEXT” After I graduated, I studied a Masters in Design and Illustration, where I discovered that I could make a living out of something I was passionate about, and decided to combine my work as a designer with my freelance job as an illustrator.

What inspiration do you take from other art forms?

Regarding cinema, I admire the work by Jean Cocteau. I watched La Belle et La Bête at the BFI in London a few years ago and I was struck by the inventiveness, the beauty and the surrealism of the film. I’ve been a great admirer of his work since then.

I also love the films of Jean-Luc Godard and how he cleverly uses composition and colour in his films, which is something I take greatly into consideration when creating my work.

As for literature, I’ve always been inspired by writers like Albert Camus, Virginia Woolf and Gabriel García Márquez. I created some illustrations based on philosophical ideas explained in The Myth of Sisyphus by Camus, which really made me think.

The Waves by Woolf also inspired many sketches that are waiting to become illustrations.

Amongst your commissioned work are a number of book illustrations. Is the interplay between words and images something you enjoy exploring in your art?

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What’s next for you? Anything interesting on the horizon?

I’ve just finished working on a new book that will be published

by Tate Publishing in October. The title is Meet The Pre-Raphaelites and it’s an activity book for children, an engaging introduction to the work of the artists that were members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. It’s been a dream project, as the work of the Pre-Raphaelites has been very inspiring for me since I was a teenager.

At the moment I’m working on a new illustrated book for kids that will be published in Spain. I also have a few ideas for some books and exhibitions that I’d love to create as soon as I have some free time.

Liam Casey

helenaperezgarcia.co.uk | @helena.perezgarcia

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PLAYING WELL WITH OTHERS

TIPPLES & TOURS

MUSIC BACK FROM THE BRINK

T

he sound of a thousand drunken nights slouched over a dive bar pours from the music of American songwriter Mishka Shubaly.

It’s the sound of the best stories from your worst nights.

Playing live, it’s just Shubaly and his guitar frequenting those bars that were once his downfall. He has battled alcoholism and other means of self-flagellation to return a sober, successful songwriter, ultramarathon runner and author and teacher of writing at Yale. Not so much a rags-to-riches tale, more a story of redemption and triumph over the darker recesses of our minds.

Shubaly led a life of drunken debauchery. Many people go through that phase. For the majority it is a short, youthful, exuberant time. Other people seem to stretch it out for longer than that - much longer. Living your life that way is fun and liberating for a short while. Longer periods immersed in this lifestyle can have a much more profound effect on you than just your bank balance.

Every bad decision, every drunkenly spilled pint, every nameless pill are laid bare in Shubaly’s music, music that strips back the skin and exposes the blackened soul underneath. That’s not to say that the music is bleak. Far from it; Shubaly’s songs are full of self-deprecating humour and honest analysis of his poor life decisions. For those with a certain mindset, there is always humour in tragedy and it seems that he has a talent for extracting and magnifying that humour.

The new album, When We Were Animals, was released at the start of May. The signature growl and sombre themes are still prevalent, yet there is a greater depth to the sound and a sense that this is someone who is actually enjoying creating a record.

Could the emotionally stunted Mishka Shubaly actually be maturing as an artist? Considering the life changes he has made since getting sober, it’s not unreasonable to think that there may

now be a somewhat different outlook on life.

After years of abusing his body, it’s frankly amazing that this man can now claim to be an ultramarathon runner, yet Shubaly has completed numerous 50-mile races and even a 100-kilometre race. This inspirational transformation is reflected in his music, particularly on the new album. ‘Death in Greenpoint’ was written by the old Mishka and newly-written songs still focus on failure and regret, but there is a reflection in the approach to making and recording music, a feeling of finding some joy in a process that should always have been enjoyable.

Listening to When We Were Animals, the redemption story shines through in the production and in the musical and emotional intensity. The exuberant rendition of ‘World’s Smallest Violin’ and the comedic sensibilities of the chorus belies the troubling subject matter. When it comes to ‘Never Drinking Again’, the delivery is dour and morose, a feeling of waking up with a hangover and a black eye. However, this song is not about the false promise made by a drunk the morning after. It’s an upbeat message from a man who has escaped the depths of alcoholism and risen above it to create a new life for himself.

These songs do a good job of summing up Mishka Shubaly. A man of contradictions. There really is no one else quite like him.

Mark McIntosh

Mishka Shubaly plays The University Arms on 13 June.

Tickets are £8. mishkashubaly.com

SOUNDWAVES Described by us as “cementing Arctic Monkeys’ place as true innovators,” the band’s fifth album has become the fastest selling on vinyl in 25 years, the BBC reports. Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, which has prompted comparisons to both Nick Cave and lounge jazz, has polarised fans and critics.

A new British film is to feature two tracks from a Sheffield band. Raza Mallal’s Ask The Cheat, in which a teacher asks a student for help in kidnapping her unfaithful husband, will

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include ‘Shallow Grave’ and ‘Set Me Free’ by Dead Like Harry, who recently celebrated their 20th anniversary.

Former music venue Queens Social Club is to be converted into a drive-thru and hub for a new food delivery service.

The ChefChef app will see retailers including Twisted Burger Company and Craft & Dough partner with City Taxis to create a local rival to services like Uber Eats.

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LIVE PICKS

LIVE REVIEWS PEACE

RODERICK WILLIAMS & ENSEMBLE 360

9 May Leadmill

11 May Crucible Studio

I’d just started university when Peace came to my attention.

My life seemed destined to become a weak brew of student debt and unattributed Wikipedia knowledge. Luckily a new band had burst onto the scene, one who adopted a more flamboyant persona over macho posturing, one that could gift me the perfect soundtrack to my much-needed reinvention. Seven years later, while I’m still somehow in higher education, Peace have moved on, releasing their third album and once again playing UK shows.

Lead singer Harrison Koisser comes draped in the same loungewear for tonight’s gig that he posed in for the cover of the latest LP, Kindness Is The New Rock And Roll.

There is a noticeable decibel swell as the band’s members appear one-by-one. Perhaps he’s this generation’s alternative heartthrob. Perhaps he’s simply been missed.

The band take no time to fire into ‘Wraith’. Together, nostalgia and euphoria fill whatever space was left in the absolutely brimming Leadmill. The plethora of evocative stimuli sends me back to first year, back to that night when my Spanish friend persistently asked for high fives before falling asleep on my bedroom floor.

Expecting to see a crowd of younger faces, I found comfort in the realisation that most of the audience, like me, had also aged. The newest songs went down best among the fresher-faced attendees, especially ‘You Don’t Walk Away From Love’, a number Harrison jokingly describes as “Talking Heads, with more walking than talking”.

Sheffielders have waited four years to see the boys from Birmingham back in their city. Playing plenty from In Love, their much-loved debut, and introducing some promising songs from their latest effort, most would agree it was worth the wait. Although I’m about to finally finish university, I hope that Peace are just warming up.

Across two packed concerts in one evening, baritone Roddy Williams first joined Ensemble 360 to sing Mahler’s ‘Songs of a Wayfarer’, then presented the third of his survey of Schubert’s song cycles with Swansong, a sequence of 13 posthumously published songs from late in Schubert’s life.

Before Williams took to the stage, Ensemble 360 performed Mahler’s ‘Quartet in A minor’, followed

by Wagner’s ‘Siegfried Idyll’. The latter was originally composed by Wagner for his wife - as a surprise, performed on their staircase at home - and latterly incorporated into his opera, Siegfried.

Both performances were absolutely superb. The quartet was beautiful, truly Romantic and played with the infectious enthusiasm at which Ensemble 360 musicians excel. The Mahler was a splendid affair, with ten musicians in the round. I recognised music used

by Buñuel in the classic short film, Un Chien Andalou, a reminder not just of the wide range of uses to which classical music is put, but also the power of a composer whose music is recognisable in very different contexts.

Williams’s and the ensemble’s rendition of Mahler’s songs was absolutely perfect. The late concert, completing Schubert’s song cycle, was also outstanding.

Not only was the singing and interpretation perfect, as was Iain Burnside’s accompaniment on piano, but the presence Roddy Williams brought to his performances added hugely to the experience. The way he used the space in the round, making sure that he sang directly to every part of the audience, and at charming moments directly to individuals, was captivating. His introduction too, in which he spoke about the ways every concert is a rehearsal, showed humility and a profound understanding of the music he performs, reminding us of the benefits for performer and audience alike to always being open to learning something new, even from familiar works.

Tom Josephidou

Samantha Holland

Hearing Radio 3’s eclectic Late Junction show record a session at the Picture House Social was a special experience, with sets from folk singer Jim Ghedi and live coder Heavy Lifting either side of new work from contemporary composer Stephen Chase.

‘Banjolely’ saw Chase and collaborators Linda Kemp and Nathan Bettany continuously play the same note for around 15 minutes using a banjolele and two ukuleles. Over the duration of the performance, the sound seemed to warp into new shapes, and tones drifted up and down the scale as if from a slide guitar. Such concentrated repetition causes the mind to play tricks.

This strain of minimalism is fiendishly difficult to perform, as it requires all performers to maintain an almost telepathic connection to each other and to not lose concentration for even a split-second. The performers teeter on the edge of what Philip Glass calls ‘trainwreck’, in which the delicately built structure collapses like a Jenga tower.

TAMA SUMO, BRADLEY ZERO, MIKE SERVITO

KASHENA SAMPSON

Fri 15 June | Picture House Social | £11.10

Mon 4 June | Greystones | £11 The slow-burners penned by this new Nashville singer-songwriter positively drip with emotion, such as on the lilting lament ‘Never Give Up’. A quick glance at the retro cover for new album, Wild Heart, reveals Sampson’s devotion to the sun-bleached sounds of 70s America.

Fri 8 June | Hope Works | £16.90 Tama Sumo’s soulful selections as Panorama Bar resident are celebrated far beyond the boundaries of Berlin. One particularly like-minded DJ is New York’s Mike Servito, who has pioneered a queer take on house, techno and disco. There’s also NTS Radio’s Bradley Zero, LNS, Laksa and a whole heap of Sheffield talent in support.

PEACE IN THE PARK Sat 9 June | Ponderosa | Free Celebrating peace, tolerance and non-violence, the city’s favourite festival returns after another herculean fundraising effort with a full day of music, art, dancing, shops, stalls and kids’ entertainment. The Peace In The Arch after-party promises three rooms of madness down the road at Yellow Arch.

RICHARD DAWSON The songs of Newcastle singer Richard Dawson were conceived in the creative fires of ancient folk culture, but bent to his will through modern means of composition. In support is our own Jim Ghedi, who breaks traditional songs down to their most elemental and moving components.

MIGREAT LATES Fri 22 June | Foodhall | £11 (£8 concession)

TIM ERIKSEN Mon 6 June | Yellow Arch | £13.20 Billed as ‘hardcore Americana’, Massachusetts man Eriksen doesn’t interpret traditional songs, but lets them speak for themselves, most recently demonstrated on his album, Josh Billings Voyage. He’s joined by Australian singer and mandolin player Mandy Connell.

Local Roma band Romans Košice headline this early evening session, part of 2018’s Migration Matters Festival, with words sung in Slovakian, Czech and Romani. There’s also Isma Soutona (‘Hear Our Voice’), a group of Syrian men who share their experiences through sound, plus perennial local favourites Katie Pham and The Moonbathers.

GOULD PIANO TRIO

LOZ SPEYER’S INNER SPACE Wed 6 June | Lescar | £8 Exploratory jazz from trumpeter and flugelhorn aficionado Loz Speyer, a veteran of the UK improv scene. Tonight he collaborates with drummer Gary Willcox and bassist Olie Brice, with Rachel Musson on tenor sax and Chris Biscoe on alto.

Expect free thinking and new forms.

WARMDUSCHER

Wed 27 June | St Nicholas’ Church, High Bradfield | £18 (under-17 £5) Part of the Bradfield Festival of Music, violinist Lucy Gould, cellist Alice Neary and pianist Benjamin Frith play Haydn’s ‘Piano Trio in A major’ and Schoenberg’s early work, ‘Verklärte Nacht’. For fans of German Romanticism, they’ll be finishing off with Brahm’s ‘Piano Trio No 1 in B major’.

ROLLER TRIO

Wed 6 June | Picture House Social | £7.70 Whether anybody asked for a collaboration between members of Fat White Family and electro outfit Paranoid London is beside the point. Warmduscher is what we’ve ended up with, a sleazy funk five-piece who, in the words of The Quietus, make the Fat Whites “look almost normal by comparison.”

Wed 27 June | Lescar | £8 Fusing rock with jazz is notoriously difficult, which is why the plaudits racked up by this Leeds trio include MOBO and Mercury nominations. Their music combines the spiritual breeze of an Alice Coltrane record with the expansive landscapes and open-ended structures of Talk Talk at their most reverential. Grab a ticket quick, as their last appearance garnered Jazz At The Lescar’s biggest ever audience.

HOSTED BY SAM GREGORY 40 40

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RECORD REVIEWS

PEACE IN THE PARK RETURNS FOR ITS 14TH EDITION ON 9 JUNE. FOUNDED IN 2003 OUT OF ANTI-WAR DEMONSTRATIONS, THE ANNUAL FREE FESTIVAL RELIES ON FUNDRAISING EVENTS AND PUBLIC DONATIONS TO CONTINUE. YOU CAN DONATE AT LOCALGIVING.ORG/CHARITY/PEACEINTHEPARK.

AWOOGA

GANG GANG DANCE

LUMP

JOHN SHIMA

Conduit

Kazuashita

LUMP

Discreet

It’s sludge-infused grunge from outer space. I’ve mulled over a dozen far catchier descriptions, but this seems to be the most fitting. And it’s a sound that absolutely works.

The foundations of this album are built on a sublime blend of enormity and delicacy. Vocalist Tam Ali glides between layered, softly-spoken harmonies and a raspy call. James Borrowdale’s guitars are at one moment a phalanx of hefty tones and the next multi-faceted and orchestral, while drummer Taran Ali performs with a considered share of relentlessness and restraint.

It’s mesmerising that this Sheffield band are only a trio, because the vastness and vividness of their textures are frequently larger than life. Much of this is owed to the stunning production work, yet the composition and confidence with which the material is performed is a credit to the band.

Like much of the track listing, opener ‘Temporal’ gave me an absolute clobbering, yet the introspective lyricism and songwriting offers a transcendent experience for those who give this album the greater attention it demands.

Album closer ‘Otherside’ doesn’t bludgeon, but soothes with a transcendent repose. It’s an incandescent slice of serene post-rock, summarising the understated confidence of a band set to effortlessly glide into many a record collection.

Stunning from start to end, fans of Seattle’s late-80s exports will appreciate the clear influence of grunge, yet the incorporation of thunderous instrumentation is sure to whet the appetite of even the most uncompromising of metalheads.

Gang Gang Dance have been on hiatus for seven years since their last album, Eye Contact. That’s been a shock to the system for fans used to a previously hectic release schedule of six albums and five EPs in eight years, so this new release on 4AD was highly anticipated to say the least. Kazuashita is, to some extent, ‘Gang Gang Dance does shoegaze’.

It’s not something I ever expected to hear and probably not something I’d expect to work. Their signature sound of oddball samples, technicolour electronics and complex world rhythms almost seems like the polar opposite of shoegaze.

But then again, I never expected Tinchy Stryder to pop up on their 2008 album, Saint Dymphna, and that collaboration produced one of their best tracks, so they deserve the benefit of the doubt. Impressively, their idiosyncrasies emerge unscathed and Kazuashita is unmistakably a Gang Gang Dance record from the outset. Opening track ‘J-TREE’ adds restless, skittering percussion to the conventional slow-build-stirring-crescendo shoegaze formula, and Lizzi Bougatsos’ otherworldly vocals are as unique as ever.

However, they don’t stick to the shoegaze template throughout and it’s the deviations that stand out. The title track is all over the place, cramming in sub bass, tabla, live breaks, classical piano, spoken word and - my favourite bit a sample of pouring water. ‘Young Boy (Marika in Amerika)’ is a frantic Arabic trap-pop hybrid. ‘Snake Dub’ is classic GGD, a brilliantly weird, sparse sampler workout.

Who or what is LUMP? LUMP the album is a dreamy new collaboration from the minds and souls of Mike Lindsay of Tunng and Laura Marling. LUMP the artist is a soft and cuddly, fluid-moving yeti figure who Marling and Lindsay have explained gets full credit for the album.

As a long-time fan of Laura Marling, I was immediately blown away by the range of vocals she delivers on this record, worlds away from the simplicity of her early solo work. Lindsay’s surreal yet cohesive instrumental work is equally beautiful, and both musicians are truly elevated by the other’s talent.

The album is short and sweet, with only seven tracks, but as each song is in the same key and ties seamlessly into the next, you’re encouraged to listen over and over again.

Finishing the record is ‘LUMP Is A Product’, a spoken word credit sequence over more dreamlike textures and drones, giving the audience a chance to appreciate all the work that has gone into the album, whether they have access to the sleeve or not.

It’s difficult to pick favourites in such a concise selection of beautiful music, particularly as each track brings something unique while still maintaining fluidity. Special mention does have to go to the first single, ‘Curse of the Contemporary’, which is not only a fun, upbeat song, but has a music video to match. Check it out to get a peek of LUMP (the artist) for yourselves.

It’s almost a decade since John Shima released his debut electronic outing and since then he’s become one of the leading lights of the underground techno scene. A master of the analogue dark arts, he’s carefully perfected his sound over several years, making fine adjustments which are reflective of his latest release on Exalt Records. Pressed onto luscious green vinyl, Shima’s fresh outing is a seven-inch double header, featuring an original mix and a reworking by the veteran techno producer Future Beat Alliance.

If you’ve heard any of Shima’s previous 15 or so releases, you’ll know what to expect - sublime, Detroit-influenced techno that never breaks into a sweat but generates a tremendous amount of warmth. Who said techno has no soul? There is plenty of that in both versions, metronomically ticking along like a bubbling stew of modular goodness. The John Shima version is the purest of techno at its best and reflects why he’s become hot property on the live and DJ circuits, with recent invites to Germany, Spain and Romania.

The Future Beat Alliance version ratchets up the euphoria to another level while retaining enough of the original track to make it a superb iteration. Shima has worked hard to hone his sound, and now with several excellent releases and well-received gigs under his belt he has grown into a quality international artist. You don’t need me to tell you about Sheffield’s legendary electronic history. John Shima is now a part of that.

Michael Hobson

Tasha Franek

Andy Tattersall

Nick Gosling

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a couple of throwaway EPs, we decided to put them into one distinct piece of work. We like to think of it as a mini-album, a companion piece to Art in the Age of Automation.

How do you feel your music fits into the classical tradition, if at all?

I suppose not that neatly, really. There has always been a minimalist strain running through our music - the work of Phillip Glass and Steve Reich, for example - but not a lot of ‘classical’.

That said, it does share some similarities with artists such as Max Richter and Nils Frahm.

To me, your music has quite a filmic quality. Are you influenced by cinema?

Yeah for sure, although perhaps not directly. Visual art has always been something of an influence, and cinema too in a similar vein. The music is quite abstract though, so these things often have quite an opaque influence on the music.

What visual artists have inspired Portico’s work?

It’s usually a very indirect kind of inspiration, but Gerhard Richter’s work in the Köln ‘Dom’ Cathedral inspired both the title of one of our tracks, ‘4096 Colours’ from our self-titled album, but there is also a field recording made from inside the cathedral running through the track itself.

In our 2011 interview, you told us you’d be interested in doing soundtrack work. Have you been offered commissions?

Although our work is often described as having a cinematic or filmic quality, we’ve never been approached with any solid commissions for soundtracks. There has been interest, but

room. Over the years that has changed and we now write a lot of material individually, sketching ideas on our laptops before developing them further together. Using this process helps us to try different sounds and gives a greater flexibility to how we compose.

What influenced the decision to release Living Fields under the Portico banner? Do you have future plans for the side project?

Living Fields was really meant to be a complete side project.

It wasn’t meant to be related to Portico Quartet really in any way. It was us exploring a totally different area and form. There aren’t really any plans for more music at this point.

You switched labels for your most recent release. What made you sign with Gondwana?

We have known Matthew Halsall, who is the label owner, for a really long time and there was a point before we recorded Art in the Age of Automation where there was an opportunity to move labels and it just seemed a really good time and fit. We loved what Matthew had done with the label and it just seemed like great timing.

What are the group working on next?

At the moment, we have begun to work on writing music for our next album. We’re in the very early stages of this, but it’s exciting when everything is open and undefined at this point.

You’re headlining the Folk Forest in Sheffield towards the end of July. What can we look forward to?

Music from our new albums, as well as some from our

“THERE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A MINIMALIST STRAIN RUNNING THROUGH OUR MUSIC”

ART IN THE AGE OF AUTOMATION

D

esigned in Switzerland in 2000, the hang is one of the world’s newest instruments, producing a glowing, radiant sound not unlike a steel drum. For most of its lifetime, it’s been synonymous with the London group Portico Quartet, who formed in 2005 and quickly won acclaim for their shimmering and evocative sound, residing somewhere in the blurred boundaries between contemporary jazz and epic post-rock. 2007’s debut album, Knee-Deep in the North Sea, was hailed as a high watermark for British jazz, as was its successor, Isla, two years later.

Portico Quartet’s self-titled third album followed a line-up change, with the departure of founder-member Nick Mulvey. The group also began to experiment with their sound, reducing the prominence of the hang and introducing more 44 44

synthesised elements, as well as releasing electronic reworkings of their songs from the likes of Luke Abbott and KonxOm-Pax on 2013’s Live/Remix. This new direction culminated in 2015’s synth pop-influenced Living Fields, released under the name Portico, and 2017’s Art in the Age of Automation.

Portico Quartet headline this year’s Folk Forest (21-22 July), so I caught up with drummer Duncan Bellamy from Egypt to talk about the performance and their latest record.

Tell us about your new record, ‘Untitled (AITAOA #2)’ When we recorded Art in the Age of Automation, we were in a particularly productive mood and form. We ended up with so much music and it just couldn’t all fit on the album. We love all these extra tracks, and rather than just split them into

previous albums. It’s a set that builds and builds in intensity...

Sam Gregory

Photo by John Williams

PORTICO QUARTET

nothing has materialised so far. It’s definitely something we would love to do in the future.

What music excites you at the moment?

I’ve been really enjoying an album by Italian musician Gigi Masin called Wind. It’s an ambient album from 1986 and still feels so current.

Your music is sometimes described as possessing ambient qualities. Eno talks about ambient music as enhancing an environment with an atmosphere or tint. Is this an idea you relate to the group’s work?

I think we approach and use ideas of ambient music in a slightly different way to this. We don’t really use it in an environmental sense. It is usually more of a structural device as part of a wider composition.

What do you make of all this talk about New British Jazz?

I think it’s great it’s getting a lot of exposure. There’s a real energy to it and it’s great to see it moving beyond the academic institutions into wider culture.

On the self-titled album you focussed less on the hang.

How has your setup of instruments evolved since then?

Well, it has definitely moved on, but the allure of the hang drum has been hard to shake. It doesn’t play such a dominant role as it once did, but is still a voice. We use a lot of effects pedals on our synths, drum machines and samplers, in combination with our acoustic instruments.

How has your creative process changed with the introduction of more electronic instruments?

We used to write all of our music live, with all of us in a

Portico Quartet headline the Folk Forest on Saturday 21 July, 7pm, on a weekend bill which also includes Nubiyan Twist, Soweto Kinch, Sam Amidon, John Smith, Before Breakfast and plenty more. Weekend tickets are £30 for adults or £70 for a family of two adults and two children. thefolkforest.net | @thefolkforest

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EVENTS FOR EVERY PALATE

HEADSUP

PROJECT SANDSTORM

NOW THEN 10 MIX

Budding entrepreneurs and industry tycoons have been given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to invest in nothing less than the future of music. Have you often wondered why no product on the market combines the towering wall-ofsound of late-90s commercial trance with the unrelenting ferocity of a Saharan sandstorm? Get your wallet primed, because Alex Noble of Chin Stroke Research & Development is set to explain Project Sandstorm.

Did we mention it’s Now Then’s tenth birthday this year?

Well, it is, and to celebrate we are spotlighting ten ‘things’ that sum up the magazine and its parent company, Opus, through to the end of 2018.

A few years back we launched a monthly music mix series, gathering the great and the good to contribute eclectic and exciting mixes of their favourite tracks. Some are silly, some are super serious - all are fantastic, and provide us with ample background music in the Opus office.

This month, we plan to re-launch each of the 30 mixes on social media across 30 days, with a new Now Then 10 mix uploaded and released into the wild as well. Our aim is to throw in tracks from every year of Now Then’s existence since 2008.

We’ll be revisiting the local, national and international artists we’ve shouted about in interviews, reviews and previews, bringing together a mix that tries to do justice to the musical journey that Now Then’s music section has been on over the last decade. We’re not sure if you remember 2008, but the music scene in Sheffield, and the wider industry, looked and sounded a bit different, so we’re anticipating some blasts from the past and a heady dose of nostalgia.

Stay tuned to our social media accounts throughout June or navigate to mixcloud.com/nowthenmag for hours of entertainment.

What is Project Sandstorm all about?

Project Sandstorm is a fully-functioning sandstorm detection system that plays Darude’s 1999 eurodance hit when wind speed and dust particle density reach dangerous levels. We plan to install the device in the Gobi Desert and make a documentary telling the story of how we got it there.

Is there a serious point behind all this?

The project is a piece of satire that aims to ridicule the paltry attempts at combating climate change through gimmicks, however well-meaning, as well as pushing the Darude ‘Sandstorm’ meme to its technical and geographical limit.

What do you get for your investment?

We’re offering exclusive pre-release downloads of the film, t-shirts, the opportunity to have your name engraved on the sandstorm detector, vials of Gobi Desert sand, fully-operational sandstorm detectors and more.

Is Darude himself aware of all this?

Darude has been notified on Twitter, but as yet we are still awaiting a response. We don’t blame him though. He is probably very busy playing gigs and making sure that everyone in the world has definitely heard ‘Sandstorm’.

Sam Gregory

all shows open to the public (14+ unless stated otherwise)

Tuesday 5th June | £10.00 | The Tuesday Club | 18+

REDLIGHT,THE HEATWAVE & MORE SOUL JAM GUN & CDMC, THE DUST CODA HORSE MEAT DISCO & PLUMP DJS BEAK> & EX-EASTER ISLAND HEAD WARWICK JOHNSON LOCO DICE BOYZLIFe brian mcfadden & keith duffy CRANNI VAN VESSEM Thursday 7th June | £6.00 | 18+

Friday 29th June | £17.50

Saturday 21st July | £8.00 | Tramlines Festival After Party | 18+

Thursday 4th October | £15.00 | Sensoria Presents

Friday 5th October | £15.00

Sam Walby

Friday 12th October | £12.50 | Muzik Presents | 18+

Thursday 25th October | £28.50

Saturday 27th October | £10.00

At the time of writing, Alex has raised £1,263 of his £5,000 goal. You can invest in Project Sandstorm at gofundme. com/ProjectSandstorm.

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Foundry, Sheffield Students’ Union, Western Bank, S10 2tg foundrysu.com facebook.com/fsfsheffield foundry@sheffield.ac.uk twitter.com/su_foundry

AND SO IT BEGINS...

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FILMREEL E

clectic as ever, this month Sheffield Doc/Fest presents its films alongside virtual and augmented reality experiences and numerous talks and discussions. Once again, screenings are split across thematic strands, including Doc/ Think, Doc/Rhythm and Doc/Visions. The focus of our preview is on these three, and some of the other most filmically interesting and thought-provoking films Doc/Fest 2018 has to offer.

Contrasting with films about human-animal relations from the Doc/Love strand - see For The Birds and Mountain - Doc/ Think film When Lions Become Lambs poses difficult questions around the issue of poaching and the different battles for survival being fought by humans and elephants. Also thinking through violence, Boys Who Like Girls considers how the culture of gendered violence in India might change after the infamous gang rape in Delhi two years ago.

Thinking about the violence that we humans do, not only to each other and to animals, A Journey to the Fumigated Towns contemplates the emerging environmental crisis as it’s playing out in Argentina. Concentrating on the effects of agrochemicals on individuals and the Earth as a whole, this investigative film incorporates archive materials, photos and testimonies from locals, farmers and researchers.

The Doc/Vision shorts programme looks intriguing, especially, for instance, Here There Is No Earth, about the dangers of crossing borders in this modern age, and a terrifying tale of massacre in A God’s Shadow.

The collection of short 16mm films that make up Arboretum Cycle, and the feature-length Obscuro Barroco, also promise more avant-garde, visually explosive experiences. The same can be said for Sleep Has Her House, a film described variously as painterly, Lynchian and ‘like something from The X-Files’, which uses long static takes, and mixes live action with stills, to create a ‘contemplative, hypnotic experience, akin to paintings that move’.

Continuing the visionary theme, the festival offers a chance to see a number of short films by an influential filmmaker and poet in Margaret Tait: A Century, films in which the everyday is revealed to be extraordinary. Documentary and fiction are blurred in Female Human Animal, an examination of sexual politics set amid an exhibition in Mexico of the work of the late surrealist artist Leonora Carrington, whose work and actual presence infuse the film.

Over in the Doc/Rhythm strand, one of the true masters of rhythm is profiled in Milford Graves Full Mantis, in which the influential jazz drummer and polymath (kung-fu master, inventor, herbalist, artist) is sure to provide insights into his roving mind.

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Punk Voyage is the tale of the last years of the band who would become Finland’s Eurovision entry for 2015, PKN (Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät), an outfit who grew out of a workshop for adults with developmental disabilities. Seeing this band perform at Heeley Social Club a few years back was a unique and raucous experience, and this is the second documentary feature about the band.

Elsewhere, Moor Mother Live in London continues the musical intensity, Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin pays tribute to the late sci-fi author, Wild Relatives explores an extraordinary environmental initiative linking Lebanon, Syria and the Arctic, and among film revivals featured, there is the interventionist Black Film, in which Yugoslav director Zelimir Zilnik attempts an unconventional approach to resolve the problem of homelessness.

A number of films investigate and bring to light little known or little understood corners of history which have pressing interest for current affairs. The Ballymurphy Precedent documents a secret massacre which foreshadowed the more infamous Bloody Sunday, while The Silence of Others explores the legacy of Franco’s Spain. Bringing matters up to the present day, When the War Comes is a chilling investigation of the recruitment of right-wing paramilitaries in Eastern Europe.

Also recommended is Amal, a portrait of a politicised Egyptian teenage girl finding her place after the Arab Spring’s aftermath; A Woman Captured, confronting at close quarters the ugliness of modern European slavery; and Whispering Truth to Power, a profile of South African anti-corruption champion Thuli Madonsela’s last year in office.

With screenings across eight cinema screens most days, plus free outdoor screenings in addition to talks, events and the Alternate Realities programme, Doc/Fest can be a challenge to navigate. Get a festival programme from the Showroom or look online to see all that’s on offer across a very full six days.

Samantha Holland & Stephen Chase

A Journey to the Fumigated Towns (2018)

DOC/FEST 2018: THINK/RHYTHM/VISIONS

FILM LISTINGS HOSTED BY SAMANTHA HOLLAND

THE TAKE

AGAINST THE TIDE

Thu 7 June | 7pm | Regather | £6

Fri 8 June, 1:45pm & Mon 11 June, 9am | Showroom

AVI LEWIS & NAOMI KLEIN, 2005

Regather hosts an opportunity to experience and discuss a politically-engaging documentary, focusing on the aftermath of disastrous International Monetary Fund policies in Argentina, begging the question of whether the workers’ subsequent occupation of factories poses a threat to capitalism or simply re-creates it.

A THOUSAND GIRLS LIKE ME SAHRA MOSAWI, 2017

Fri 8 June, 3:45pm & Sun 10 June, 6:30pm | Showroom

sheffdocfest.com

Enjoying its European premiere at Doc/Fest, this Afghanmade film foregrounds the fate of women attempting to seek justice under the Afghan judicial system, documenting the story of Khatera, who fights her family and the system after years of sexual abuse.

STEFAN STUCKERT, 2017

Likely to appeal to fans of ShAFF, this Doc/Fest film documents Beth French’s attempt to become the first person to conquer ‘Oceans 7’, swimming seven of the world’s most dangerous sea channels in just one year.

IN THE FADE FATIH AKIN, 2017

UK-wide release 22 June A triptych drama critiquing the legal system’s response to a bomb attack in Hamburg when the victim’s an immigrant, this film also explores the psychology of loss, grief and revenge through its central character, Katja Sekerci, played by Diane Kruger, for which she was awarded best actress at Cannes this year.

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EVERYBODY NEEDS GOOD NEIGHBOURS...

June/July 2018 16th June Pühaste Brewery Showcase - six craft keg beers and two bottled beers from Estonian brewery Pühaste.

Styles include IPA, Porter, Imperial Stout, Sour Ale and Gose.

July - date tbc Stu Mostów Tap Takeover - Enjoy a selection of kegs beers from Wroclaw based Polish brewery Stu Mostów.

Please check social media for updates.

Find us on social media or ask at the bar for more information.

0114 272 9003 rutland.arms 52

therutlandarmssheffield.co.uk RutlandArms

rutlandarms

OUR PICK OF INDEPENDENT SHEFFIELD

HADDON HALL

ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST

haddonhall.co.uk

7-23 June, Crucible Theatre sheffieldtheatres.co.uk

Situated in the Peak District just outside Sheffield, Haddon Hall is a Tudor stately home which, as well as being packed with 15th-century history, caught the attention of the makers of Pride & Prejudice, The Princess Bride and The Other Boleyn Girl, who featured this elegant building in their movies. In March, it opened its doors to allow us to step back in time and immerse ourselves in 900 years of art and history.

This summer season brings with it events for all the family to enjoy at Haddon Hall, most of which are within the general admission prices – adults £15.75, concessions and students £15, with children under 15 entering for free and a small charge for parking. Visitors can expect guided tours, archery, music recitals, artisan markets and historical recreations across various dates in May, June and July, with more fun to come in the autumn.

Stop for afternoon tea in the restaurant to make the most of the beautiful scenery and browse the gift shop to take more home than just memories. Those looking for a longer stay can visit The Peacock at Rowsley, a picturesque, Grade II-listed hotel with an excellent restaurant and bar.

Book tickets online or find out more at haddonhall.co.uk.

The cult classic One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is coming to the Crucible stage this month. The novel by Ken Kesey tells the story of a small-time criminal choosing to spend his sentence in a psychiatric ward rather than in jail. When he realises the reality of his situation, McMurphy is faced by Nurse Ratched, who is determined to continue her disciplinary regime without contest.

Sheffield Theatres associate director, writer and artist Javaad Alipoor is sure to give this much-loved story the treatment it deserves. Staying closer to the novel than the popular 1975 film did, it discusses toxic masculinity while capturing the epic rebellion of the film. Alipoor’s directorial play will be thought-provoking in its political elements, so fans of the film will certainly not be disappointed by the dark nature of the adaptation, but there is also a peppering of light comic relief.

The cast includes Joel Gillman (Silent Witness) as McMurphy, Lucy Black (The York Realist) as Nurse Ratched, and Jeremy Proulx as Chief Bromden. Tickets are on sale now at the Sheffield Theatres box office in person, via phone on 0114 249 6000 or online at sheffieldtheatres.co.uk, with prices starting at £15.

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Aoife White silver bowl.

Photo by Martin Smith

FAVOURITES

BROOMHILL FESTIVAL

GREAT NORTHERN CONTEMPORARY CRAFT FAIR

16-24 June broomhill-festival.org.uk

27-29 July, Millennium Gallery greatnorthernevents.co.uk

The Broomhill community is encouraging people of all ages to join them in celebrating local causes, as well as events commemorating 70 years of the NHS at this year’s Broomhill Festival.

The Great Broomhill Bake-Off returns, aiming to beat the great cakes of 2017. The Great Get Together Afternoon is hosted in memory of Jo Cox MP and includes games, crafts and music from the Panama Steel Band, with more music at the Schools Concert and Coffee Concert, as well as the Sheffield Philharmonic Orchestra working their magic in the evening.

Broomhill Library, Infants School, and local homes will all be opening themselves up for the Open Gardens in aid of Sheffield charities. They’ve also not forgotten about the creative people of the city - Broomspring Writers will be hosting an event for budding writers, and eager actors can join ‘a play in a day’, hosted in St Mark’s Church.

You can pay on the day for most events, but for full details of everything on offer across this amazing week, visit the website.

The award-winning Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair is coming to Sheffield at the end of July, and it’s bringing with it 75 of the UK’s most talented designers and makers, each hand-picked by a panel of experts for their amazing work.

The fair is in its tenth year, so expect something special.

We’re happy to say that after a competitive application process, some of Sheffield’s very best makers made it into the line-up. These fine creators will be selling work across a range of media, including jewellery, textiles, glass, ceramics, metalwork, art prints and much more, and there will also be the opportunity to commission your own bespoke pieces.

The Millennium Gallery is hosting the weekend event, with a preview on Friday 27 June from 6pm to 9:30pm. It will open to the public on Saturday 28 June, 10am to 5pm, and Sunday 29 June, 10am to 4pm. Tickets are available on the door, but as always they’re cheaper if bought in advance, so for full details as well as a link to buy tickets, head to greatnorthernevents.co.uk.

AFRICAN SANCTUS 7 July, Octagon classicalsheffield.org.uk Birmingham-based Keneish Dance and Sheffield Oratorio Chorus join forces on 7 July to perform David Fanshawe’s African Sanctus, blending powerful and emotional athleticism with African music, celebrating diversity and pushing the boundaries of traditions.

The choreography is commissioned by Arts Council England and supported by Yorkshire Dance and MAC Birmingham. With students from Firth Park Academy joining the choir, the 100-strong group will complement the on-stage movements.

The opening half is more hard-hitting and intimate, exploring addiction and recovery in High I’m…, which contrasts strongly with the second half, an explosion of religious and spiritual music, with tribal sounds recorded in Egypt, Sudan, Uganda and Kenya.

The evening is hosted at the Octagon, with adult tickets at £15, £12 concessions, and £5 for students and under 15s.

Tickets are available on the door, at the Blue Moon Cafe by the Cathedral and via WeGotTickets. Find out more about the collaborators by heading to their websites: keneishdance.com and oratorio.org.uk.

KICKOV 14 June - 15 July, Abbeydale Picture House kickov.com Football, craft beer, street food, an outdoor terrace – what’s not to like? Watch the World Cup at Abbeydale Picture House courtesy of Kickov, who will be streaming the matches in HD for an immersive Soviet soccer experience.

Get Wurst will provide currywurst and hotdogs and Pie Eyed will offer South Yorkshire’s finest pies for punters who want nothing more than a proper football pie. There is also the opportunity to dress up as your favourite football star for the unique Footy-oke, as well as testing your World Cup knowledge with Kickov’s Superstar Soviet Soccer Quiz, plus table football and beer pong tournaments.

Kickov begins on 14 June with an opening party, when the host nation kick off the tournament versus Saudi Arabia.

Entry is free, so no matter what flag you stand under, take a trip to the Picture House and cheer them on. Find out more information about what’s on offer at kickov.com.

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INDEPENDENT PURVEYORS OF ALE

BIG IN THE GAME

YELLOW ARCH MUSIC VENUE WWW.YELLOWARCH.COM

JUNE SATURDAY 2ND 8PM

YA PRES. ELECTRIC SWING CIRCUS & MIGHTY VIPERS £12

WEDNESDAY 6TH 7PM

TIM ERIKSEN HARDCORD AMERICANA

SATURDAY 16TH 4PM

DUB SHACK SUMMER BBQ SATURDAY 23RD 9PM

THE LIMIT REUNION £10

SATURDAY 30TH 7:30PM

THE WIRED PLUS KARA £7

£12

JULY

FRIDAY 8TH 11:45AM

SATURDAY 7TH 2PM

CONCERTEENIES £7 ADULTS / CHILDREN FREE

FRIDAY 8TH 8:30PM

YA FUNK & SOUL SUMMER JAM FEAT. PAPA SOUL £4

SATURDAY 9TH 8PM

PEACE IN THE ARCH (PITP OFFICIAL AFTER PARTY)

FESTIVAL 23 – CATCH 23

£23 EARLY BIRD / £25 ADVANCE

FRIDAY 20TH & SATURDAY 21ST JULY

YELLOW ARCH TRAMLINES FRINGE WEEKENDER

£4

THURSDAY 14TH 7PM

THE DAILY GRIND BLUES & SOUL REVUE £4

30-36 BURTON RD NEEPSEND SHEFFIELD S3 8BX tel. 0114 273 0800

A SHEFFIELD INSTITUTION

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